Macro Photography

Ever wanted to know how to light a macro image with P-TTL flash for perfect results?

Firstly here are the build images:

First of all, using an old cereal box mark up a rectangular cylinder thats slightly wider than your pop up flash:

Line it by cutting out foil larger than you need, then adding plenty of glue to the cardboard before sticking down:

The inside:

I then wrapped it well in brown parcel tape, firstly to add stability to the cardboard but also for a little camo!

next cut a hole for your pop up flash:

I decided at this point that as the lens set up could change ie 2x convertor, extension tubes, lens reversing ring etc that ideally what I needed was a zoom model so I made another, exactly the same as above but this one was ever so slightly larger than the first. This way I was able to zoom it back and forth.

Thinking of the end that does all the diffusing I toyed with kitchen roll etc but it was to flimsy and I needed something that would stay put and be a little more hardy so I cut a window from a plastic 4 pint milk carton and sellotaped it on place:

Most photographers will come across the term macro or macro photography sooner or later.

This article explains the various ways of producing macro photographs using everything from very cheap, to sometimes very expensive equipment. As with most things in life, "you gets what you pays for", but it’s possible to produce stunning macro images for a reasonably low cost if you are prepared to improvise. Your childhood years watching Blue Peter may come in handy after all.

Starting out buying cheap equipment is OK, but if you get bitten by the bug (pun intended), you'll soon want better results and remember, the phrase “buy cheap, buy twice” is often true. more ...